There is an interesting history to the Cambodia gambling dens that sit just across the border from neighboring Thailand, in which casino gaming is not allowed. Eight casinos are situated in a generally small space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect destination, a three to 4 hour trip from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting locations in Asia. Cambodia gambling dens do a huge business with Thai workers and visitors from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with only very couple of Westerners. The astonishing income accrued from the gambling dens ranges from seven and a half million dollars to over 12.5 million, and there are a few controls requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, financing sources are cryptic. The borders are formally open from 09:00 to 5:00 p.m., and even though visas are supposedly needed to cross, there are methods and means around this, as is true of most border crossings.

The original Cambodia casinos opened in Phnom Penh in 1994, but were forced to close in the late nineties, leaving only a single gambling hall in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a moored barge gambling hall, contains one hundred and fifty one armed bandits and sixty gaming tables. The Naga river boat is open all day and night with forty two tables of mini-baccarat banque, four tables of 21, 10 of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and one each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.

The initial casino in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, opened in 1999 and the Golden Crown quickly followed. There are one hundred and fifty slots and 5 tables at the Golden Crown and 104 slot machine games and sixty eight table games at the Holiday Palace. The newest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred slots and 70 tables and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six one armed bandits and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with one hundred and thirty five one armed bandits and 66 of the common table games, as well as 1 table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the eight gambling halls in Poipet, also a part of a hotel, is the Princess Casino with 166 one armed bandits and ninety seven casino games. The Star Vegas Casino is part of a multinational vacation and hotel complex that features a number of luxuries on top of the gambling hall, which contains ten thousand square feet of 130 slot machines and 88 gaming tables.